'Move Over' crashes in Florida increase nearly 30 percent

Motorists driving through Florida need to be more mindful of emergency and service vehicles on the side of the road. “Move Over” crashes in the Sunshine State jumped nearly 30 percent in 2016.

There were 204 crashes in Florida last year involving vehicles that did not move over for stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles and tow trucks or wreckers, according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department. That’s an increase of more than 26 percent from 2015 when there were 161 Move Over crashes.

Orange County had the most crashes with 36, followed by Miami-Dade and Broward Counties at 27 and 24, respectively. Despite the large increase in number of crashes, there were only 68 injuries, two more than in 2015 or an increase of only 3 percent. No fatalities were reported.

FLHSMV recommends slowing down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit when motorists are unable to move over or when driving on a two-lane road. When the speed limit is 20 mph or lower, motorists are advised to slow down to 5 mph.

Last January, FLHSMV released its Move Over Campaign Evaluation Report. The Move Over, Florida! campaign cost more than $35,000, most of which was used for billboards. The report claims that Move Over crashes and citations increased 41 percent from 2012 to 2014, and citations for failing to move over increased by 68 percent from 2012 to 2014.